Friday, June 3, 2011

Want Jobs? Go Green!

Before I hear any more about "job killing enviro-nazis" and "myths of manmade global warming hurting our economy", view this.

Need I say more? Need I go on? OK, I will.

How many of us are thinking twice about our summer travel plans? How many of us are worrying about how much more expensive it is today to drive to work and/or school? And our addiction to fossil fuels isn't what's hurting our economy?

New York Times columnist Tom Friedman has been talking about this concept for a while, arguing that a gasoline tax “would trigger a shift in buying and investment” in clean energy here in the U.S. — a move that would provide a foundation for a reinvigorated economy and reduce Americans’ dependence on oil, particularly from foreign sources.

But despite the fact that little is being done about it legislatively, the general consensus is that America’s dependence on oil also harms U.S. national security. “Bringing down consumption of imported oil is very much in the interest of national security,” noted retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton last month. And indeed, even the U.S. military is acknowledging this reality and taking action [...]

“There are a lot of profound reasons for doing this, but for us at the core it’s practical,” said Ray Mabus, the Navy secretary and a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Yet the Saudis have an obvious interest in keeping America — and the West — addicted to its oil supply. And luckily for them, their mouthpiece in the U.S. gets generous air time to make that case. And seeing that bin Talal is also one of Fox News’s largest shareholders, perhaps he’s rubbing off on some of the network’s most high profile employees. “I love that smell of emissions,” Sarah Palin said this weekend.

Why? Simple. They're not stupid. They know that there is potential for 4.2 million new green collar jobs in the next 30 years, and that the global demand for bold solutions to the climate crisis may actually provide lucrative opportunities in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

If green jobs are the future, then my home state is at the center of it all. Nevada has the highest unemployment rate in the country, yet we also have immense opportunities to take the climate bull by the horns and actually revive our economy with new jobs.

So if we really want to avoid "double dip recession" and chronically high unemployment, and if we want to finally get off the sidelines and take the lead on pushing real climate solutions, we know what we need to do. So when will we do it?